Collectively, small lifestyle changes can make a huge impact on the environment–and your life. Looking for happiness and health? What’s good for the environment is also, it turns out, great for you. Here’s a collection of tips from the No Impact community.
I have a family of four and have been composting kitchen leftovers in the courtyard for five years now, reducing enormously the weight and volume of trash to be carried outside and also eliminating the need of doing that every day (in Italy we don’t have grinders in the sinks). The composter was provided for free by the local administration. Moreover I separate recyclable materials from the rest and confer them in the proper bins in the streets.
This post was submitted by Vittorio Marletto.
Within the city I cycle to work, to shops, everywhere I need (about 50 km/week). I use the car only on weekends, to reach with my family of four the house we have in the countryside. It is a smallish car, 9 years old, fuelled with LPG, and the only one we have.
This post was submitted by Vittorio Marletto.
Remember those old fashioned lawn mowers our grand parents used to use? I was surprised to see that these things are still being manufactured and sold at local hardware stores. So, I did some research and here’s what I found.
Pros:
-No Gas = zero emissions!
-A lot less noise. I can listen to my baby monitor or communicate with my wife while mowing.
-Just as easy to push as a standard push mower. Possible because reel mowers are much lighter.
-Much less maintenance than a standard mower.
Cons:
-Occasionally leaves a grass blades standing.
-Must clean yard of twigs and other debry before mowing. Generally a good idea anyways!
-Won’t mulch leaves as well as a standard mower.
Well, I decided to jump on the go-green band wagon and buy a 20″ Scotts Reel mower. I was initially surprised at how easy it was to push. It made a bit more noise than I wanted, but it is still much less than a motor running. The quality of cut is MUCH better and I’m guessing healthier for the grass. The one thing that I don’t like about the mower is how many blades of grass it leaves standing. I didn’t think it’d leave as many as it did, but it does. So, you can either live with it or mow those areas again. If I hadn’t gone back over those areas, I’d guess I’d have mowed the lawn in about 3/4 less time than I would have with my self-propelled mower. When I got done and looked back over my lawn, I was overcome with a feeling of happiness. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe it was because I had gotten some exercise while not sucking in fumes. Or maybe it was because I was doing something good while not having do any measurable amount of extra work.
This post was submitted by Joe Kissell.
People always think that “going green” means making sacrifices, so here’s one that’s all good. Try sleeping for an extra hour or two each night. I read once that before the electric lightbulb, people slept an average of 9 hours a night. NINE HOURS!!! Most people I know struggle to get seven. Believe me, you’ll LOVE how you feel once you let yourself enjoy getting a few extra hours of sleep.
So forget what you’ve been told about being lazy, sleeping more is good for you and good for the environment. So try turning in a few hours early, that’s a few extra hours each day when you can turn down the furnace, turn off the lights, TV, computer etc, and enjoy feeling more rested and happy! See, going green is easy!
This post was submitted by Rebecca.
I realize the word “Hippie” has gotten a bad rap here, but I must tell you that my waterbad has become an incredible energy-saving device.
Basically the water in the bed works as a large thermal mass which helps to cool the bed in summmer and keep it warm in the winter. Here’s the trick: NO WATERBED HEATER.
In the summer I keep about a 2 inch pad on the mattress so I don’t get too cold but I NEVER have to cool the house at night.
In the wintertime I up the padding to about 6-8 inches. I use old blankets and quilts from the thrift store (wool army surplus blankets work great – and it doesn’t matter how stained or ugly they are because they go under the bottom sheet). It’s wonderfully warm and allows me to turn the furnace WAY down at night. If your bed is near a south facing window you could cover it with a dark color and it will absorb sunlight during the day to heat the room.
This post was submitted by Rebecca.